


Accompany

by PsychedelicatePoltergeist



Series: Lessons In Strength, Friendship and Love [19]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Christmas, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 18:37:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17146976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychedelicatePoltergeist/pseuds/PsychedelicatePoltergeist
Summary: To celebrate the end of the school term and the beginning of the winter holidays, Chiaki throws a class Christmas party for all of her classmates, as well as her friend Hajime. But, while the party is well-planned and put together by him and his classmates, Kazuichi is not having a good time, and part of it is Fuyuhiko's fault. Despite this, perhaps Kazuichi's Christmas wish will come true - even if the outcome is an unexpected one.





	Accompany

**Author's Note:**

> It's Christmas Day in my neck of the woods at the time I'm posting this, and I'm really proud of this monster of a seasonal fic and how it turned out.
> 
> Yup, I had to do another Kuzusouda Christmas fic this year, after doing a much more straightforward one (namely, Mistletoe Madness) last year. This fic here is actually going to be quite different from my usual Kuzusouda fare - and you'll see why when you read it - but, while there is a little bit of romantic subtext here, this oneshot is one that can easily be read as platonic. I suppose you could call this a pre-slash fic of sorts. So, if you happen to like Kuzusouda as a BROTP and not necessarily a romantic ship, this could be the fic for you.
> 
> This fic is set in a Talent Development Plan AU, namely during the SDR2 bunch's first year at Hope's Peak Academy.
> 
> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, and I hope you enjoy this story!

“Everyone, I have an announcement,” Chiaki declared as she stood before her classmates at the front of the classroom.

The chatter amongst the rest of the students of Class 77 instantly died down, and everyone turned to give their class representative their utmost attention.

Chiaki smiled with a twinkle in her eyes. “On our last night here at school before the winter holidays, we'll be having a class Christmas party.”

Murmers of excitement rippled through the classroom. A couple of students cheered.

“It'll be held in the auditorium from 8 until 10”, Chiaki continued. “We'll be playing Christmas carols, there'll be a dancefloor, there'll be food, and I'll even bring my video game console and the TV Kazuichi built so that we can play video games. Help with the food and decorations would be appreciated.”

“YES!” Akane cried out at the mention of food. “I'll bring some snacks!”

“And I will prepare some delectable meals for the occasion!” Teruteru volunteered, with an unnerving grin that suggested ulterior motives.

“Ibuki will write some Christmas songs and perform them at the party!” Ibuki announced.

“A-and I'll help d-decorate the a-auditorium,” Mikan offered with a nervous smile.

Chiaki beamed as more of her classmates expressed their interest in assisting in the organisation of the party. “Thank you, everyone,” she said, once the noise level was lowered once again. “I'm so glad to hear that so many of you are willing to help make this possible. Even Hajime offered to help out.”

“Hajime's comin'?” Kazuichi asked, surprised.

Chiaki nodded. “He's part of the class too, after all... well, unofficially.”

That was true. Though Hajime was a Reserve Course student, he got along surprisingly well with many of the Ultimates in Class 77, to the point where Chiaki and Nagito were essentially his best friends. Ultimates and Reserve Course students being friends wasn't unheard of – after all, one of Mahiru's closest friends was in the Reserve Course as well – but Hajime was... different. Everyone in Class 77 knew him, and everyone was his friend, one way or another.

Well... almost everyone.

Kazuichi turned behind him, facing Fuyuhiko, who sat at his desk with his cheek resting upon his palm and his eyes narrowed. He'd been silent for the past ten minutes, being the only one who hadn't volunteered to assist with the party preparations.

_ No surprise there,  _ Kazuichi thought to himself as he turned back towards the front of the _ classroom.  _ ' _ Course a dangerous yakuza like him wouldn't want anythin' to do with anyone, let alone someone like Hajime... _

Chiaki took a small cardboard box from the teacher's desk, holding it out towards her classmates for them all to see. “We'll also be doing a Secret Santa,” she said. “We'll be drawing our partners today, and we'll have their gifts ready for them by the night of the party. Hajime and I have already drawn our partners, so don't worry about us.” She gave the box a light shake, then began to hand it out to each of her classmates, allowing them to take one folded slip of paper each.

When Kazuichi unfolded his slip of paper, he found the kanji for Peko's name, neatly handwritten. This was going to be tough – Peko was one of the more reserved students in the class, and no one seemed to know much about her at all. Given her talent, a sword or a training dummy would be the most obvious choice, but surely she had plenty of those already. He was going to have to be creative if he wanted to gift her something good. He had to admit, though, he was disappointed that he hadn’t picked Sonia, and he envied whichever lucky guy  _ did  _ get her. Then again, nothing could stop him from getting her a gift anyway, right?

“I’m not goin’ to the damn party,” said Fuyuhiko, cutting into Kazuichi’s thoughts. The mechanic turned around again, finding Chiaki standing in front of Fuyuhiko’s desk, holding the cardboard box out towards him. He was leaning back against his chair with his arms crossed and brows furrowed.

“I see, that’s fine,” said Chiaki, “but please draw a name from the box. Someone in this class won’t be getting a gift if you don’t, and I won’t stand for that. You can give them the gift on the last day of school.”

Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue. “Fuckin’  _ fine. _ ” He snatched up a slip of paper from the box, unfolded it and examined it carefully. Satisfied, Chiaki moved down to the back row to hand out the rest of the names. While she was distracted, Fuyuhiko crumpled his slip of paper up into a ball and threw it into the trash can.

Kazuichi didn’t know who the unlucky person Fuyuhiko had picked was, but he hoped that it wasn’t Sonia, or else someone was going to pay for disrespecting her so callously.

━━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━━

The excitement for the party and the Christmas holidays was infectious. Almost everyone in Class 77 were looking forward to ending the stressful, monotonous school term with a bang and returning home to celebrate the holiday season with their families. The next week seemed to stretch on endlessly, and Kazuichi could collapse from the rigorous tests piled upon him and the countless hours he spent in his workshop.

The students’ last full day at Hope’s Peak Academy for the term finally arrived, and, once all of their classes were over, the Ultimates of Class 77, as well as Hajime, spent the majority of that afternoon making preparations for the party. Some of them had congregated in the auditorium, putting up decorations and setting up equipment, while others were left to their own devices and prepared for the party in their dorms. Teruteru lorded over the school kitchen as he cooked gourmet meals, and Akane periodically slipped into the kitchen and offered to taste test. Overall, everyone was incredibly busy, but once the party began at 8:00 that evening, it was clear that all the hard work was worth it.

The dark auditorium was illuminated by a plentiful arrangement of blue and white Christmas lights that hung from the ceiling and stuck to the walls like vines. Gold and silver tinsel was carefully arranged over the railings of the bleachers.The Christmas tree they’d borrowed from the Ultimates’ common room stood tall and proud in the corner of the auditorium, adorned with colourful decorations. Chiaki’s video game console and Kazuichi’s television were set up in the opposite corner. Christmas carols could be heard from the small radio on the stage, which had speakers, amplifiers and a microphone ready to go for Ibuki’s performance. Long tables, covered with silver cloth, were placed in the middle of the auditorium, showcasing a truly enormous variety of food and snacks. There was a large space between the stage and the food tables that presumably served as the dancefloor.

The auditorium looked amazing, and Kazuichi had never seen anything like it. All those hours of work had truly paid off.

Each student entered carrying the gift they’d brought for their Secret Santa and placed it beneath the Christmas tree. As Kazuichi curiously stared at his classmates’ gifts, he wondered which one was his, and who it was from.

Once everyone had piled in, the music stopped, and everyone turned towards the stage. Chiaki stood in front of the microphone. She cleared her throat, and everyone fell silent at once.

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” she began. “I’m so glad that you could make it and offer such tremendous help to make this Christmas party possible.” She smiled, indicating to her classmates that she was truly thankful for their combined effort. “For now, you’re all free to socialise and enjoy the refreshments on the tables. At 8:30, Ibuki will begin performing her own Christmas carols, which you can dance along to if you want. Then, at 9:00, we’ll open our presents from our Secret Santas. After that, there’ll be a kart racing tournament, and I’d encourage you all to join in. I hope you all have a fantastic night!” She bowed as she finished her short speech, and was met with a round of applause.

After that, the party had officially begun, and the Christmas carols returned in full force. Kazuichi looked around to see if there was anyone he could talk to, but it seemed that everyone had already split off into their own groups. Ibuki, Hiyoko and Mahiru were chatting animatedly over by the bleachers. Nekomaru and Akane talked to one another in front of one of the food tables, with Akane’s words muffled by the seemingly endless amount of food she shoved into her mouth. Even Peko had found someone to talk to, though it seemed less as though she and Sonia were having a proper conversation, and more like Sonia was excitedly rambling to her about who knows what. Kazuichi was relieved that Sonia wasn’t with Gundam, at least.

Speaking of Gundam, he, along with Teruteru, the Ultimate Imposter, Mikan, Chiaki and Nagito, appeared to be having a rather pleasant chat with Hajime at the front of the stage. The six of them were surrounding him, asking him questions and telling him about their plans for the Christmas holidays. Hajime, though clearly overwhelmed, was happy to indulge in conversation. Kazuichi knew that Hajime was generally well-liked among the Ultimates of Class 77 - heck, even he had managed to strike up some sort of friendship with him - but he hadn’t realised just how much his classmates adored him. What was it about this guy that drew people to him like moths to a flame? Hajime was a nice person, and Kazuichi had seen that firsthand, but… there had to be something more to him that stole his classmates’ attention.

He figured that if he wanted to mingle with people, Hajime’s group was the safest bet, at least for now. He didn’t want to deal with Hiyoko relentlessly taunting him, and though he yearned to approach Sonia, she was clearly occupied with Peko, and Kazuichi didn’t want to risk the Ultimate Swordswoman slicing him to bits for interrupting their conversation. Being with Akane and Nekomaru seemed like a more appealing option, but when Akane got mad, she was utterly terrifying, and Kazuichi was anxious about angering her. The downside of Hajime’s group was that Gundam was among them, but much as he freaked him out, at least there were more people he could focus on. He could simply ignore Gundam, or at least try to.

Nagito was in the middle of telling a story about how his dorm had caught fire the previous week when Kazuichi awkwardly slipped into the semi-circle around Hajime, standing between Mikan and the Ultimate Imposter. He decided to wait until the recount had concluded before calling the group to his attention. Gundam sent him a sideways glance, and he glared at him before turning back towards Hajime.

“...and that’s why I moved into Teruteru’s dorm. They said it might not be fully refurbished until the second week back at school.”

“I see,” said Hajime. “That must’ve been pretty wild…”

Nagito chuckled airily. “It could’ve been worse.”

“Hey g-”

“Y-you put the fire out a-all by yourself!?” Mikan interrupted Kazuichi, horrified.

Nagito shrugged, apparently unconcerned. “I mean, I didn’t want to trouble the janitor, and besides, I didn’t want my bad luck to inconvenience anyone else.” He glanced at Teruteru apologetically.

“S-still, that’s really dangerous!” Mikan cried. “Are you s-sure you didn’t get h-hurt?”

Nagito nodded. “Positive.”

Kazuichi figured that maybe he’d have better luck if he chimed in on the current conversation, rather than starting a new one. “That was kind of a-”

“She’s right.” Kazuichi was interrupted again, this time by the Ultimate Imposter. “The way you handled this situation was courageous, but perhaps a little reckless as well. Just call 119 if this ever happens again.”

“But you see, the lucky one’s talent is truly an incredible power,” Gundam remarked. Kazuichi groaned as his rival continued to speak. “It could save him from his demise just as easily as though it could cause him to perish.”

“Yeah,” Hajime agreed. “I never even knew it was possible for luck to work like that…”

At that point, Nagito was becoming visibly uncomfortable. He smiled nervously at everyone else. “So, are there any Christmas presents you’re hoping to get?”

“U-uh-”

“The new video game console that just came out,” Chiaki replied without missing a beat. “Its specs are incredible.”

The new topic of conversaton thrived from there as everyone pitched in to answer Nagito’s question - well, everyone except Kazuichi. No matter how many times he tried to interject and put forward his own two cents, he couldn’t get a word in. Nobody seemed to care about his predicament, or even his presence.

He supposed that part of it was his own fault too, though. The truth was that Nagito’s question had taken him off-guard. What  _ did  _ he want for Christmas? When he was a child, he’d only found two gifts under the Christmas tree for him, or three in some years if he was lucky. He knew that his classmates at school had at least a  _ dozen  _ gifts under their Christmas trees, so he was very disappointed when he realised how much he was missing out. Each year, his father had told him that Santa Claus had a very busy schedule, and that he probably didn’t have enough time to leave many presents at the Soudas’ house, but that maybe next year he could give more presents to Kazuichi. But as he grew older, he realised that his parents never had enough money to give him many presents at all - as was the case for his birthdays.

Despite all of that, Kazuichi still owned a pretty decent smartphone, computer and television, but not because his parents had purchased them for him - rather, he’d found them littered around his neighbourhood, damaged and no longer working, and taken it upon himself to make them good as new. As a kid, all he got for Christmas were cheap toys, and as a teenager, clothing and books. He enjoyed the thrill of repairing and restoring damaged technology, but there wasn’t that spark, that feeling of gratitude other kids got when they were gifted their very first phone. In fact, he never got that feeling as he unwrapped any of the other gifts he’d received from his parents, either. Not because he didn’t like them, or anything of the sort, but because there was something missing throughout his life - something he couldn’t physically repair.

By the time Kazuichi came back down to Earth from his thoughts, the people around him were cheerfully laughing and joking amongst themselves, and at that point it was obvious that he wasn’t welcome to their group. Defeated, he turned away from them and headed toward the food tables. He took a plate and a pair of chopsticks and began to pile some food onto it. He wasn’t that hungry, since they’d had dinner only a couple of hours ago, but nonetheless, he could use some food.

He was just about to look for a place to sit and eat when the carols stopped again, and a loud, shrill noise caught everyone’s attention.

Ibuki, standing on the stage, grinned sheepishly at her classmates as she adjusted the microphone. “Sorry ‘bout that, everyone!” she said. “But I hope you’re ready for some noise, ‘cuz it’s time for Ibuki to play her tunes!”

Kazuichi resisted the urge to groan. It was a well-known fact among the class that Ibuki’s music left something to be desired. The sharp guitar riffs, coupled with Ibuki’s low, growling vocals, combined to form an unpleasant experience. He wasn’t looking forward to listening to any of the carols she’d written. He preemptively ate as much food as he could, hoping that the terrifying death metal wouldn’t make him vomit.

“Ibuki hopes you’re all pumped and ready to hit the dancefloor to the first song, “Pure White Snow”!

The title of this song sounded innocent enough, and any normal person would assume that it was a sweet, perhaps romantic, ballad. But Kazuichi wasn’t fooled, and he was fully expecting the harsh cacophony that ensued as Ibuki played to her heart’s content. Nonetheless, the way the noise assaulted his senses was too much, and he screamed and scrambled under the table he stood near, staying there for the next half hour.

By the time Ibuki finally finished the last song, it was time for everyone to open their presents, and Kazuichi begrudgingly departed from his sanctuary under the table to join his classmates sitting around the Christmas tree. The notion of getting a present from someone cheered him up a little.

Chiaki, who stood beside the Christmas tree, knelt down and picked up a present. She held it up to her face, reading the tag attached to it. “Well, to start off, we have this present here for Mahiru!” She passed it down to the Ultimate Photographer, and all eyes were fixated on her as she unwrapped her gift.

The gift Mahiru had received turned out to be a large, leather-bound photo album, and she smiled as she turned it over in her hands. “Hey, how thoughtful!” she said. “I filled up my old photo album not too long ago, so I needed a new one. Thanks!”

“Now it’s your turn to pick out a present,” Chiaki told her.

Mahiru rose to her feet, momentarily giving her new photo album to Hiyoko to take care of and admire, and selected a present from the pile. “Looks like this one’s for Nekomaru!” she announced as she gave the gift to the Ultimate Team Manager.

The rest of that time spent opening presents was spent like this. One by one, each student opened their present, thanked whoever might have given it to them, chose a random present from the gradually shrinking pile and handed it over to whoever it was addressed to. When Peko unwrapped her present, revealing an adult colouring book, she politely thanked her gift-giver with a small smile. She seemed to like it, much to Kazuichi’s relief. He’d thought about going through the time and effort of building a robotic training dummy for her, maybe even asking the Ultimate Programmer for help with creating a custom AI for it, but it was too much, and there was no way it’d fit under the Christmas tree anyway. Peko seemed like the kind of person who’d be interested in solitary activities, so he figured that an adult colouring book might suit her needs.

After that, there were only a couple of presents left under the tree, and Kazuichi hadn’t been given his yet. It had to be one of those last few presents. The anticipation was killing him. Did Sonia draw his name? Had she given him a gift? If she had, what had she given him? He stole a glance towards her, trying to predict what she was thinking, but she was intently reading the synopsis of the vampire manga she’d received not long ago. He had a sinking feeling that Gundam was the one who’d given that to her.

Before long, Nagito stood up to retrieve the final present, and Kazuichi quivered in excitement. This was the moment of truth. This was his present, and he was going to-

“Lucky last indeed, this present is for Fuyuhiko.”

_ What? _

The students looked at each other. Fuyuhiko wasn’t with them.

Kazuichi glanced around at his classmates. He was the only one who was empty-handed. By now, everyone was proudly holding some sort of present they had received from a classmate. Had Nagito read the tag wrong? That present had to be Kazuichi’s, for sure.

“Oh, well,” Nagito sighed as he placed the present back down on the ground. “I suppose whoever brought this for him will have to give it to him tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Chiaki agreed. “It’s such a shame that he didn’t come…”

And that was all that was said on the matter. No one seemed to notice, or care, that Kazuichi had not been gifted anything, and whoever had spent their time and money on a gift for Fuyuhiko didn’t seem too bothered about their efforts going to waste. Everyone leapt to their feet and made a mad dash for the television, ready for the kart racing tournament.

Kazuichi slowly stood up. His legs felt like jelly as he stumbled toward the abandoned present. He carefully took it into his hands and peered down at the name tag.

_ To: Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu _

_ From: Your Secret Santa _

Kazuichi’s heart sank. The present really was Fuyuhiko’s. There really was no gift for Kazuichi. That could only mean that Fuyuhiko had been assigned Kazuichi for the Secret Santa.

That could only mean that it had been Kazuichi’s name on the slip of paper Fuyuhiko threw away without a second thought.

Angry tears began to blur his vision. This was all Fuyuhiko’s fault. If Fuyuhiko had bothered to come to this damn party, then maybe, just maybe, Kazuichi would’ve had a present from someone, anyone, outside of his family.

No… no, it wasn’t all Fuyuhiko’s fault. It had to be Kazuichi’s. Clearly, there was something repulsing about him, something that contributed to all of his classmates pretending he didn’t exist. No one liked him in middle school, not even the one person he thought enjoyed his presence, so why had he expected that to change in high school, let alone a prestigious academy like Hope’s Peak? He was always going to be that weak, friendless loser, no matter what he did, and at that point he had no choice but to accept that.

After gingerly returning Fuyuhiko’s present to the floor, he made a haste exit from the auditorium, remembering to throw on his jacket, scarf and beanie as he went. It was clear that he didn’t belong there. It was painfully clear that no one really wanted him to be part of the class. They’d rather have an unremarkable Reserve Course student among them than some hopeless coward like Kazuichi. They didn’t even care about his departure; they were too busy setting up the video game on the TV he’d so kindly built for them earlier that year.

It was unbearably cold outside, and although Kazuichi’s thick clothing made an adequate effort to shield him from the cold, he still wished he’d put on some extra layers. Snow was falling, and the entire campus was coated in white. The sky was dark, but cloudy, judging by the lack of visible stars. The porch lights of the other campus buildings were on, allowing some light to illuminate the campus. Kazuichi began his trek to his dorm, wincing every time he took a step as freezing snow seeped through his worn sneakers.

“Hey!” a voice shouted. “What the fuck’re you doin’ wanderin’ ‘round here!?”

Kazuichi froze as a short figure stomped towards him, his head obscured by a black beanie. He gulped, but didn’t say a word, shivering a little - and it wasn’t just because of the cold.

“What?” the boy sneered. He looked up at Kazuichi, and his mouth twisted into a smirk. “Cat got your tongue?”

Kazuichi’s mind churned with a multitude of things he wanted to say and do to the classmate who deliberately didn’t attend the Christmas party. He wanted to shout at him, punch him in the jaw, do  _ something  _ to let him know how much of a jerk he was and how he had effectively ruined Kazuichi’s night. But he remained silent. This was the Ultimate Yakuza, after all, and screwing around with him was a dangerous move.

Fuyuhiko huffed, exasperated. “You want me to just leave you here to freeze to death, cunt? It’s fuckin’ freezin’ out here. You tryin’ to kill yourself or what?”

“Shut up!” Kazuichi shouted. His fists were tightly clenched as he blinked back tears. “J-just… stop talking! I don’t wanna deal with a selfish asshole like you!”

“Then go ahead and run with your tail between your legs, coward. I’ll be waitin’.”

“I’m not a coward!”

“‘Course you are. Fuckin’ crybaby, throwin’ tantrums ‘cuz some girl doesn’t wanna suck your dick.”

“You’re the bigger coward for hangin’ round here while everyone else are at the party you shouldn’t have been invited to!”

Fuyuhiko was genuinely offended. He clenched his teeth, marched forward and seized Kazuichi by the collar. By then, Kazuichi had lost control of his tears, and they freely slid down his face as he stared at Fuyuhiko’s livid expression. “Call me that again, and I will fuckin’ kill you,” he growled. Then, with a force unexpected from someone of his stature, Fuyuhiko threw Kazuichi down into the snow.

Kazuichi was incensed. Here was this pathetic little boy who thought he was hot shit because he was the heir to Japan’s most influential yakuza clan, picking on one of his classmates just to make sure he was taken seriously. It was infuriating how intimidating someone with the face of a newborn baby could be.

But… some things didn’t add up. Why  _ was  _ he loitering around the auditorium at this time of night? How long had he been doing that for? Kazuichi had fully expected him to be in his dorm by now, probably packing his things to return home for the winter break. Had he decided to go to the party at the last minute?

Maybe… maybe Fuyuhiko wasn’t so different from him after all. It was a far-fetched theory, but… the look in Fuyuhiko’s eyes as he slammed Kazuichi to the ground was… unlike anything Kazuichi had seen before.

They were both outcasts of Class 77, weren’t they? And Fuyuhiko was an outcast by choice… right?

The pain of his loneliness and the lack of a Christmas present from anyone in his class spurred a newfound anger in Kazuichi. He wasn’t going to let this stupid yakuza kid push him around any longer. He jumped up to his feet and ambushed Fuyuhiko just before he’d turned his back, throwing him down to the snow. Kazuichi fell with him, but he kept himself upright as he pinned Fuyuhiko down by his shoulders. Fuyuhiko, for his part, looked surprised, and without a doubt ready to shoot Kazuichi in the face, but that didn’t stop him.

“Why can’t you just be honest with yourself!?” Kazuichi screamed. “Why do I gotta go through this alone!? It’s gotta be killin’ you, right? Bein’ alone… I don’t get how you could be okay with that!”

If Kazuichi had blinked at the right time, he would’ve missed the brief flash of guilt passing across Fuyuhiko’s face. The Ultimate Yakuza frowned contemplatively, studying Kazuichi carefully.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he asked. He no longer sounded as aggressive and confrontational as he normally did, but rather annoyed, and perhaps a little curious as well.

“I wanna know what yours is,” Kazuichi replied.

The silence that ensued was constricting and uncomfortable. After some time had passed, Kazuichi released Fuyuhiko, and both boys stood back up, dusting snow off their clothes.

“I dunno why you’re expectin’ me to play nice with you all and do stupid shit like partyin’ and playin’ video games,” said Fuyuhiko. “It’s like meetin’ a hitman for hire, but instead of givin’ him a mission you invite him for a couple rounds at the bar. I thought I made it very fuckin’ clear to you that I ain’t here to make friends.”

“Yeah, you did say that at the start of the school year,” Kazuichi recalled. “But what were you doin’ ‘round here?”

“What were  _ you  _ doin’ ‘round here?”

“There was no point in me bein’ at the party. I might as well have not been invited at all.”

There was that expression of guilt again, lingering this time. Fuyuhiko sighed. “So you’re bitchin’ cuz I didn’t get you a present like I was s’posed to, right?”

“W-well, uh… not really, I mean… it’s just… everyone kept ignorin’ me. I tried to join in some conversations, but… it was no use.”

“Well, I gotta be blunt: your social skills suck. I don’t blame ‘em for ignorin’ you. But…” There was a brief pause, and Fuyuhiko sighed in resignation. “I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t go through the same thing.”

“Huh?” Kazuichi’s eyes widened.  _ Fuyuhiko  _ had been ignored, despite his best efforts? By whom? Where and why would he be actively pursuing a social life?

“Hardly any of the other clan members like me,” Fuyuhiko admitted. “They always talk ‘bout how I ain’t good enough to be heir of the clan and how my sister should’ve been picked instead, and I hafta hear that shit all the time.”

For Kazuichi, it was hard not to emphasise with Fuyuhiko. The fact that the Kuzuryuus rejected him, however, was surprising news. Was this the real reason why Fuyuhiko pushed others away so much? Was he doing it to prove his worth as heir?

“I’m… sorry to hear ‘bout that, man,” said Kazuichi. “I dunno what their deal is. You seem like a fine enough yakuza heir to me, y’know?”

“You’re not a yakuza,” Fuyuhiko pointed out. “You don’t know what’s to be expected of an heir, especially one of a clan with fuckin’ huge influence like the Kuzuryuu Clan.”

“Yeah, but still…” Kazuichi grinned. “You seem pretty badass to me.”

It was a little difficult to tell due to the limited amount of light, but Kazuichi thought he saw Fuyuhiko’s cheeks shine a little pinker than usual. He shrugged it off - it had to be a trick of the light.

This encounter felt… a little strange, but not in a bad way. Fuyuhiko had put up a bit of a fight, but in the end, he dropped his guard and exposed his true nature to Kazuichi - a gruff but well-meaning boy who simply wanted to be accepted by his family, and, perhaps, to have a real friend. Being with Fuyuhiko wasn’t so bad now that he wasn’t screaming death threats on a regular basis.

“Y’know… I think the party’s gonna wrap up soon. You wanna… go back with me, say hi to everyone?”

Fuyuhiko pursed his lips in hesitation. After a short pause, he nodded. “I’m leavin’ if they get too annoyin’.”

Kazuichi’s face lit up, and he couldn’t help but put his shark-toothed grin on full display. “I’m gonna kick your ass in Mario Kart, I just know it!” he enthused.

Fuyuhiko smiled back - a rare but satisfying sight. “We’ll see ‘bout that.”

━━━━━━✧❂✧━━━━━━

“Oh, it looks like Kazuichi’s returned,” Hajime remarked as the doors opened to reveal the Ultimate Mechanic and his companion. “And he brought… Fuyuhiko?”

Nagito, Ibuki, Sonia and Akane paused their game of Mario Kart, and everyone looked up at the new arrivals. All eyes were on Fuyuhiko, inquisitive and perhaps a little afraid of what he might do if provoked.

“Well, this is quite a surprise,” Nagito commented. “Did you bring Fuyuhiko here to collect his present, Kazuichi? I’m surprised you convinced him to come.”

“N-no, not really,” Kazuichi replied, smiling nervously.

“I’m sorry if you were upset about not getting a present, Kazuichi,” Chiaki piped up. “After you left, Hajime speculated that maybe you were feeling left out. I hope you understand that we didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”

“W-we were having intense c-conversation earlier, a-and we didn’t really notice you t-trying to join in,” Mikan added. “We should’ve d-done more to include you! We’re so s-sorry!”

Kazuichi smiled. “‘S alright. I kinda thought I was bein’ a pain.”

“Of course not,” Hajime assured him. “You seem like a fine person to me.”

“Yeah, but you should probably stop hiding under the table when Ibuki plays her music,” said Hiyoko. “Even that disgusting pig over there showed a bit of courtesy.”

“E-ehh!?”

Fuyuhiko rolled his eyes.

“Oh!” Chiaki looked up at Fuyuhiko with a smile. “I’m glad you could make it after all, Fuyuhiko. I wasn’t expecting you to come since you told me you wouldn’t, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see you here.”

“Indeed,” Nagito agreed. “I guess your arrival was a stroke of luck. None of us were expecting you to arrive, in all honesty, but now that you’re here, I’d like to say that you are welcome here.”

Chiaki nodded. “Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi, you are both classmates of mine, and everyone here. There is a place for you here in this class. You are a part of us, and we all value your efforts and contributions to the class.”

There were murmers of agreement from the other students.

Warmth swelled up within Kazuichi’s chest, and he glanced at Fuyuhiko to see how he was feeling. His heart began to beat just a little bit faster when he saw the small but genuine smile on Fuyuhiko’s face and the way his eyes shone with happiness. The joyful expression quickly vanished, and as his usual grimace took its place, Kazuichi wondered if that had been an illusion.

“Thank you, guys,” said Kazuichi. “Thank you all so much.”

He thought back to Nagito’s question about any Christmas presents he’d been hoping to get, coming to the conclusion that there  _ was  _ a Christmas gift that he’d been yearning for a long time. Tonight, he’d finally received it, and tonight was the happiest he’d been in a long time. He no longer cared about his Secret Santa gift (though he figured Fuyuhiko would get a last-minute gift for him the next day), or anything materialistic, and, somehow, he had a distinct feeling that Fuyuhiko felt the same way.

For Christmas, Kazuichi had wanted a friend - a loyal friend whom he could trust, and who would stay by his side through thick and thin. He’d wanted to be someone who was well-liked by his peers for who he was. And it was on that night that Kazuichi’s Christmas wish had finally come true.


End file.
